Four atrocities against minor girls reported from Uttar Pradesh in a week; data shows rising crimes against children in state

A series of brutal crimes against minors have been reported from Uttar Pradesh in the past week, turning the spotlight on the issue of safety of girl children in the state. This comes merely ten days after a video of two girls being molested by over a dozen boys in Rampur district sparked outrage. In the past week, four separate cases of atrocities against minor girls were reported to have taken place. [caption id=“attachment_4500965” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Uttar Pradesh Police. PTI[/caption] On Wednesday, a 15-year-old girl was beaten to death by a group of ten people after an altercation in Atrauli village of the Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh, police said. The incident took place when the victim had a quarrel with some people of the village. Following the altercation, they beat her up with sticks. The girl died on the spot. An FIR has been lodged against ten people, all of whom are absconding. On the same day, a 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her uncle in the Budhana area of Muzaffarnagar. According to a complaint lodged by the girl’s father, she was raped by her 21-year-old uncle. The accused lured her from her house and took her to a nearby place, a police official said, adding that the girl was sent for medical examination. Also, in Muzaffarnagar, a newborn girl was found abandoned in front of a house in the Kotwali police station area on Wednesday evening, circle officer Harish Bhadoria said. The locals found her after hearing her cries and admitted the child to a district hospital. According to footage from a CCTV camera, a woman had arrived in a car and left her child outside the house. The newborn is currently under treatment, chief medical officer PS Mishra said. In Amethi, a minor girl was allegedly raped by three men on 31 May, additional superintendent of police BC Dubey said. An FIR was filed against the three men based on a complaint lodged by the girl’s brother. Two of the accused were arrested on 1 June, Dubey said. Crimes against children rising in Uttar Pradesh Recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has shown an increase in crimes against children in Uttar Pradesh. The number of crimes against children rose from 11,420 in 2015 to 14,835 in 2016. The rate of crimes against children (incidence of such crimes per 1 lakh of the population of children) had earlier reduced from 16.7 percent in 2014 to 12.9 percent in 2015. However, it has seen a sharp increase to 18.2 percent in 2016. With inputs from PTI